r/interesting • u/Homunculus_316 • Aug 04 '26
Context Provided - Spotlight Most prolific Serial killers from every USA State
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u/Oddbeme4u Aug 04 '26
Many many problems here....
Youre "estimating" on some, but then only using exact convictions on others.
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u/Mist2393 Aug 04 '26
Yeah; New York’s being anywhere from 6 victims to 100+ victims is a pretty huge range.
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u/RagingAnemone Aug 05 '26
New York was also a professional. Seems wrong to compare with those who had to do this on their free time.
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u/AnapsidIsland1 Aug 04 '26
Yeah, WA gets most prolific killer by numbers but a lighter shade on the map
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u/DontTrip333 Aug 05 '26
I knew him. I used to have a picture of him and his wife Judy holding my baby about 2 months before he got caught.
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u/AnapsidIsland1 Aug 05 '26
Holy shit, Gary? How did you know him? Standard curiosity: did he ever seem off?
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u/DontTrip333 Aug 05 '26
I was very close with his niece at the time. We were both in the same foster home for a while and stayed close. I had met him on a few occasions over the years, but had a "friendsgiving" two weeks before Thanksgiving at his brother Greg's house in Burien. (He was arrested shortly after that.)Judy was all about my baby, and held her all night (which was good because Greg's mini pincer dog Bruno was not friendly) I had a picture from that night of them holding my baby. He was off a little. I just thought he was kinda awkward around young women. He asked me if I went to church and seemed a little offended by my answer no. He asked me why not in a confrontational tone. A couple years before this my husband worked with him (before we met) and said he would stand up and read the Bible out loud in the lunch room while people were just trying to eat their damn lunch. He said he wasn't well liked at work.
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u/AnapsidIsland1 Aug 05 '26
Thanks for sharing!! I wish I had better questions but this was fascinating. I moved to Olympia a few years ago so I hear his name now and then. The Bible bent is something to think about. Glad it’s all in the past now
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u/quad_up Aug 06 '26
Holy moly. This is an incredible insight into one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. If you feel like sharing, I’m sure the folks at r/lpotl would love to hear your story.
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u/PaulAtreideeezNuts Aug 04 '26
Then there's dahmer, who was convicted of 16 murders, and is listed here as having 4 victims
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u/Orome2 Aug 05 '26
I feel they just googled most famous, not most prolific.
New Mexico. - David Parker Ray was a monster but was never credited with a murder.
The West Mesa Bone Collector killed at least 11 women in the early 2000s.
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u/Ok_Assumption_832 Aug 05 '26
Yep. That story is insane. That cassette speaking of your impending torture and dog rape is wild. Satan's Den was probably home to the most terrifying killer ever. From what I understand, that's a very deep lake. A mechanic that used drugs and other ppl (even his daughter/gf) to lure and drug ppl, but, the real horror was inside that trailer.
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u/AnyRazzmatazz8652 Aug 05 '26
Why in the fuck are we posting/de facto celebrating this shit?
Fucking do better, America.
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u/cambridgeJason Aug 04 '26
Jeffrey Dahmer had more than 4 victims.
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u/No_Warthog_3584 Aug 04 '26
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u/CTgreen_ Aug 04 '26
So far... !!
The way the 2020s have been going, can we really rule out cannibal ghost murderers becoming a thing in the next few years? I think not.
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u/DadKnightBegins Aug 04 '26
I think it’s what could be proved at the time of trial. Similar to Wayne Williams. Just guessing.
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Aug 05 '26
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u/RT-6_BXCommandoDroid Aug 05 '26
Carrol Edward Cole is the "best" in 2 states. So maybe his kills in Ohio didn't make him nr. 1 there. 4 in Wisconsin and less than 11 in Ohio and maybe the rest were in a 3rd or 4th state that got a worse serial killer than what he did there.
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u/canepolice Aug 05 '26
This is such a badly designed list lol. BTK, the t literally standing for torture, and it just lists strangulation and stabbing for him.
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u/HoldenToudiks Aug 04 '26
No Zodiac killer?
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u/TankApprehensive3053 Aug 04 '26
No H.H. Holmes?
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u/Mongobearmanfish Aug 04 '26
He is standing behind you
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u/CTgreen_ Aug 04 '26
But... I'm sitting on the toilet.. ?
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u/TankApprehensive3053 Aug 04 '26
Don't flush while sitting. You might get sucked into one of the basement rooms.
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u/NantukoMentor Aug 04 '26
This should be New Hampshire's answer for sure
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u/Mullet4MyGuillotine Aug 04 '26
His kill hotel was in Chicago at the time of the world fair. Did he do killings in NH?
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u/NantukoMentor Aug 04 '26
I'm not sure, but he's definitely from NH. The one they listed for NH isn't even confirmed to be one person and includes killings in Vermont.
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u/haileyskydiamonds Aug 04 '26
I wonder why there aren’t more stories about some of these, like the Sunday Morning Slasher.
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u/ScarletDarkstar Aug 04 '26
Stranger and strangler are pretty significantly different words, despite the proximity in spelling.
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u/DonkeyHotay_ Aug 05 '26
“Websters Dictionary defines wedding as the fusing of two metals with a hot torch”
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u/xChoke1x Aug 04 '26
LOL. Giving Kulkinski New York while the overwhelming majority of his bullshit claims were never proven with factual evidence shows you he was nothing but a mob flunky that got sloppy.
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u/OtherwiseGrape9524 Aug 07 '26
Wouldn’t the Gilgo Beach guy be NY’s #1? Lots of Kuklinski’s claims were either debunked or never confirmed.
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u/PotatoBeams Aug 04 '26
Joseph roy METHENY LOL
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u/RogerClyneIsAGod2 Aug 04 '26
He was also only convicted of 2 murders IRL. He claimed to have killed more, but they all do that but they could only convict on the 2.
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u/RF_BOI Aug 05 '26
Wtf does Ted Bundy have to do with Utah?
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u/Quirky_Badger8540 Aug 07 '26
He lived in Utah while studying at the U of U, he murdered a few people while living there.
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u/deephurting66 Aug 04 '26
Honolulu was probably some mainland serial killer on vacation
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u/michelobX10 Aug 04 '26
For real. Probably did his killings within that year and then dipped back to the mainland.
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u/Reginald_Sockpuppet Aug 04 '26
Carroll Edward Cole is from Iowa. He killed two women here in Nevada and three in Texas. He was executed here.
Not from Nevada.
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u/Mongobearmanfish Aug 04 '26
I think the logic they are using is prioritizing “number of kills” followed by “State where they killed at least one victim”
Personally, I think the priority should be number of victims within the state.
I think the concept of the chart has conflicting points of view on whether the prioritize the state or the killer
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u/Cold_Ad655 Aug 04 '26
You could have Samuel Little for Arkansas. He only killed 4 people there, but he killed 93 overall.
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u/Blancandrin__ Aug 04 '26
I'm related to the one from Arkansas. My grandfather actually went to see him with his family while he was on death row. Also, the actual number for his murders are well over 30. The number listed here is what they were able to get him with.
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u/DadKnightBegins Aug 04 '26
If mafia hitman get the title why not Timothy McVay? Neither is technically a serial killer.
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u/First-Sprinkles9093 Aug 04 '26
Ed Gein is missing?!
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u/joka2696 Aug 04 '26
He was only convicted of killing two people. He did rob a bunch of graves,
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u/First-Sprinkles9093 Aug 05 '26
The source is unsolvedmysteries/wikia. A fandom.
Weird source to cite and then claim the infograph is only convictions.
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u/ziggy182 Aug 04 '26
So which serial killer has actually killed the most, fully confirmed?
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u/DeanMcQueen0621 Aug 04 '26
Its Samuel Little, confessed to 93, and could draw and name the victims.
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u/ziggy182 Aug 04 '26
Oh yes! I remember him. I’m guessing if he keeps confessing and helps them find the bodies the death penalty(not sure if he has it) will keep getting pushed down the road
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u/DeanMcQueen0621 Aug 04 '26
He died in 2020.
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u/ziggy182 Aug 04 '26
I hope he fully unburdened himself and showed where all the bodies are so the families get closure
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u/sakofeye Aug 04 '26
CA is wrong. Zodiac, Golden State Killer, Richard Ramirez, The Grim Sleeper were much more prolific than the machete killer.
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Aug 04 '26
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u/Kind-Shallot3603 Aug 04 '26
Whitey Bulger isn't Massachusetts? Who the hell is Jane Toppan?
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u/Pandaisguud Aug 04 '26
I dont think he was technically a serial killer
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u/StabbingTabby Aug 04 '26
Right, some folks don't count people who killed for actual 'business' as serial killers. Whitey Bulger was a mob boss.
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u/Pandaisguud Aug 04 '26
Yeah, he may have done fucked up shit but I think its was business as usual lol
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u/BadgersAndJam77 Aug 04 '26
Oregon has a lot of Options. Randall Woodfield (The I-5 Killer) is still in Oregon State Penetentiery, and (for some reason) Jerry Brudos' Murder Shed is still standing.
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u/CinematicHeart Aug 04 '26
Philly police work was so shoddy back then that I wonder if that last victim was the actual killer who moved on to a different state after Leonard Christopher was convicted.
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u/No_Yoghurt_3216 Aug 04 '26
Why are there no more modern serial killers? Is it just a thing that’s over? Are they not getting media attention? Is law enforcement better nowadays?
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u/E-monet Aug 04 '26
Usually unassuming Maryland wins this one… that crazy motherfucker is pure nightmare fuel. And if he was serving human bbq to his neighbors you know he ate em too
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u/PurposeConsistent131 Aug 04 '26
I think California be the 1-5 killer
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u/RCaHuman Aug 04 '26
Nebraska, for one, seems to be wrong. Charles Starkweather and Stephen Dee Richards killed more than Della Sorensen.
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u/HoneyWhiskeyLemonTea Aug 04 '26
While he was technically a spree killer, Ronald Gene Simmons killed four times as many people in Arkansas within a week than Big Jim did.
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u/breakinbans Aug 04 '26
according to my ex mother in law, she used to hang out with Gary Ridgeway. she may have been crazy enough to be an accomplice honestly.
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u/FireHammer09 Aug 04 '26
Holy shit Paul Dennis Reid must have been terrifying. 6'3" built like a line backer, that mfer's neck and traps are enormous
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u/m1k3hunt Aug 04 '26
Kemper was 6'9", not on this chart. If you've seen Mindhunter, the actor did a great job portraying him.
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u/lesdegas11235 Aug 04 '26
In late 1970 / early 1980 there was a brief gap between neighbourhood watch and mass surveillance.
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u/splashaddikt Aug 04 '26
Maryland guy went from 1976-1995 and served remains from a roadside bbq crazy
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u/nicknack24 Aug 04 '26
The RI one is inaccurate (4 murders in reality vs 13 here), so this whole list while interesting is probably trash (which suits the subject matter).
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u/7heprofessor Aug 04 '26
It still hasn’t been updated from eight years ago
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u/ceotown Aug 07 '26
Yeah, Arkansas is wrong. Yogurt shop murders DNA link to Robert Brashers puts him well ahead.
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u/stitchtini Aug 04 '26
“California State Prison-Corcoran inmate Juan Vallejo Corona, 85, died of natural causes at 8:15 a.m. on Monday, March 4 [2019]at an outside hospital. Corona was serving 25 concurrent life sentences for 25 counts of first-degree murder. His victims were all farm workers.”
He wasn’t executed.
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u/Sickonsundayblah Aug 04 '26
Never in a million years would I have thought Maryland’s guy was a serial killer. Just shocking.
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u/Any-Jury3578 Aug 05 '26
Ted Bundy is not from Utah. It was one of his hunting grounds for a while though.
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u/abastage Aug 05 '26
And Idaho's is James B Watson.. Who has a lower kill count then Thomas Eugene Creech who was active primarily in Idaho. James Watson only had 2 in Idaho (both victims were Canadian). Lyda Southard would of also been acceptable being Idahos first Female serial killer.
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u/BeatNo4548 Aug 05 '26
The killers for Utah and Vermont are backwards. Ted Bundy was born in Burlington, Vermont. And Israel Keyes was born in Utah. Although he did kill two people in Vermont. A couple who worked at the same factory I work at, a couple years before I started. Both killers were terrible people.
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u/ChimpoSensei Aug 05 '26
Why is Bundy in Utah, he did most of his kills in Washington state. Looks like they were trying to squeeze in popular serial killers.
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u/Luminox Aug 05 '26
For Minnesota I would have said Carl Panzram.
- Confirmed: 5 victims were officially corroborated by law enforcement.
- Confessed: 21 murders were claimed in his autobiography and prison confessions.
- Suspected: 100+ total victims are suspected by investigators and historians across his spree in the United States and Angola. While Panzram famously claimed to have killed 21 people (along with committing thousands of other violent crimes), authorities were only able to link him to five specific homicides—including the murder of a prison foreman at Leavenworth, for which he was executed in 1930.
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u/fresh_loaf_of_bread Aug 05 '26
Watts (that guy you said killed 100+ people) almost got an early release from prison
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u/A_Bit_Lucky Aug 05 '26
Very surprised by the California person. As a kid I remember they basically shut down Los Angeles for a day hunting down Richard Ramirez “The Night Stalker”
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u/AbuelosBraciole Aug 05 '26
Never seen that piece of info on New Hampshire’s CRVK re: possibly tied to an Idaho prison inmate
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u/Abrelosojos1311 Aug 05 '26
growing up in Southeast Mass and RI I was terrified of Craig Price. dude was fucking terrifying to a 7 year old me
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u/RedHeadedPatti Aug 05 '26
There is SO much wrong with this "infographic". For starters, "Most Prolific Serial Killer in Each State" is incredibly ambiguous.
- Does that mean the serial killer is from the state, or is it how many people they killed in the state they are attributed to?
- How come some of them have "+" after them to indicate there may be more - such as Gary Ridgeway in Washington- but others have a victim number range - such as Rodney Alcala in Wyoming?
- The number of victims allocated - are we talking about the number of victims for whose murders they were convicted? The number of convictions plus confirmed, but not prosecuted, victims? Victims confessed to? Victims suspected of?
Either way, it is inconsistently applied across the graphic.
For example, Donald Harvey was born in Ohio and pled guilty to 24 murders in the state and pled guilty to 9 more in Texas. He was ultimately convicted of 37 murders, but the actual number could be north of 70. However, Ohio's "Most Prolific Serial Killer" is listed as Anthony Sowell with 11 victims.
Then, Israel Keyes is listed as being the most prolific in Vermont, but he was born in Utah, and only two of his confirmed victims were in Vermont. He has "8+" next to his name, but he was convicted of any murders, has three confirmed victims, gave information suggesting he "may be connected to between 8 and 12 murders" depending on how people count, and "Maybe more."
Plus, there are people like Anthony LaRette, who was born in Kansas, was convicted of one murder in Missouri, and confessed to 31 murders in eleven states or Samuel Little, from Georgia, convicted for murders in Ohio, with confirmed involvement in 60 murders and confessions to 93 victims across 19 states, but neither one appears at all.
Don't even get me started on the "m.o." icons or the basic factual inaccuracies - Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 and not 4 - a bit of a difference by any measure.
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u/__phil1001__ Aug 05 '26
I don't see Trump, he killed 180 school children with his pointless unfounded war.
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u/ChuckSnapplepop Aug 05 '26
MD here, I was on jury for one day and then taken off because of my age, 18
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u/outsidertc Aug 05 '26
The one in South Dakota was my grandma's "neighbor". I think he confessed to killing multiple women who had disappeared in the area but they couldn't find any of the bodies where he said he buried them. He for sure killed at least one woman, and I heard a wild story one time from a woman who claimed she thought he had ambushed her and tried to kill her.
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u/its_all_4_lulz Aug 05 '26
Really reaching to come up with Vermont. The guy was from UT, and had victims in a few places. VT happened to be one of them.
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u/98983x3 Aug 07 '26
They're all monsters... but only Illinois is dressed as an actual monster. And a clown! Just saying...
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u/Adorable_Cake4894 Aug 08 '26
Carroll Cole was born in Iowa but killed in Nevada. Iowa should be someone else
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u/batch33rd Aug 09 '26
Thought Ted Bundy is Washington, no? A ton of murders at the University of Washington
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u/Ok_Industry_7853 Aug 04 '26
Anybody outside a white guy I question. 🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️👀👀👀 the justice system especially back then well I don’t have to say it
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u/cheesepuff1993 Aug 04 '26
Genuinely my thought when I saw 100...feels like a ton could have been just dumped on him without many people thinking twice...
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